Target Audience: This interdisciplinary course targets students who wish to increase their understanding of alternative futures . Discussions of environmental issues and the science behind them will lay the groundwork. Although designed as an honors course, other students in good standing can enroll pending instructors’ permission.

Instructor: Chris Simon, Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Texts: G. Tyler Miller & Scott Spoolman. Living in the Environment. 17th Edition (Used copies are available; also available as an “e-book”.)

The Control of Nature, by John McPhee. Section 1 of this book will be discussed in Class in Mid Semester; the book was written in 1989 but is still relevant today. You can get used and new copies on-line starting at $4.

Quiz & Current Events: Each Tuesday except the first, there will be a quiz consisting of up to ten questions related to the readings for the previous Thursday and the current
Tuesday. Reading the text is required. Each Thursday at the beginning of class current events assignment are due and five volunteers will present their findings in 4 minutes or less. Each student is required to present three of their current events assignments orally.

Attendance: As with all your classes, you will take away knowledge in proportion to the energy you put in. Students are expected to attend every class and read the text book weekly. However, UCONN policy states that students involved in activities supervised by a University faculty member or official (e.g, scholarly or artistic presentations or etc.) should inform me in writing prior to the anticipated absence and take the initiative to make up missed work in a timely fashion.) The same applies to medical and family emergencies that are documented in writing.

Seminars: Several scientific lectures (seminars) are listed on the syllabus. Some of these are part of UCONN’s multidisciplinary long- running TEALE Lecture Series, “Nature and the Environment.” Because these generally take place at 4:00 PM on Thursdays and could conflict with your class schedule, they are not mandatory. They are, however, highly recommended. Most represent talks by well-known international experts and relate to course material. These talks can be written up in place of a current events assignment that week.